Feathers, Fleece, and Four Paws: A Day on Fair Isle

🏝️ Fair Isle Walkabouts

Where Mother Nature & Father Time Work Their Magic

✨ "Travelling is like flirting with life - and life is flirting back" ✨

Having lived in urban areas, in busy cities like New York and Los Angeles, where nature is tamed and does not take an important place in daily life, a rural experience does your soul good.

🌿 Gifts of the Present Moment

There are subtle places and glimpses of beauty, mystery, and adventure here on this remote outpost of an island. There are many gifts for us as we prove willing to explore its magnificent diversity.

That's why I take so many pictures and videos! It's a gift, that's why they call it the present (hahah) and there is a lot of now here... One day at a time, one hour, one minute, one breath.

📸 🎥 🌊 🐦 🌿

Ok enough of the flowery language, it's just a so fish out of water feeling to be here. There is an endless prospect of magic and beauty in this harsh environment.

🏞️ Island Perspectives

Every angle reveals new beauty on this remote Scottish outpost

🐦 Migration Patterns

Witnessing the endless dance of species across seasons

🌊 Coastal Magic

Where land meets sea in spectacular fashion

👀 The Peaceful Mind of a Keen Observer

All that is required here is the peaceful mind of a keen observer. That's why there are so many birders, watching the migrations of a variety of species...

🔭 🐦 👁️

🐣 Learning to Fly: The Fulmar Chronicles

Much like babies learning to walk, learning to fly is a process for baby birds... This week it has been the Fulmars, the babies learning to fly... but with no wind, they appear wounded in action, but these are just growing pains - a temporary grounding as they learn to fly.

The main source of motivation for baby birds is food. The baby bird knows nothing more than that at regular intervals their mother will come and drop some food off in their mouth. Slowly the mother bird will stand farther and farther away from the nest, forcing the baby bird to come out of the nest in order to get food.

💥 The Fulmar's Secret Weapon

🚨 Fair Isle Fun Fact: When the fulmar senses danger or sees a predator, it does not run or hide. It vomits, and not just "I'm scared" throw up or your average run of the mill stomach flu. No, the fulmar projectile vomits an acidic solution at its predators up to 5 feet away!

Related to the massive albatross, the fulmar is a gull-like bird that nests on rocky cliff edges. Don't get too close, though - it spits a foul-smelling oil at intruders. We learned about these fascinating creatures from the Game Wardens: Georgia, Alex, and Dan.

🎬 Fulmar adventures in their natural habitat

🔗 Connected & Disconnected

We feel connected here, and the truth of the matter is, when we leave this place, we feel disconnected, and that is good too, because when we return, we appreciate what we have had—which is an authentic, ecstatic life of rural life on a croft farm.

🏠 ↔️ 🌍 ↔️ ❤️

The Fair Isle Paradox: We must leave to appreciate what we have, and return to remember who we are.